CHAR-KOOSTA
Flathead Agency
Published by the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes Volume 1, No. 1 June, 1971
Dixon, Montana
Indian studies set at University of Montana
An Indian Studies Program at the University of Montana is under way. The program will provide a vital service to the students, faculty, and community as well as the entire state and surrounding area. The basic underlying philosophy of the program is to develop in the Indian student a pride and positive identity with his culture by providing a number of services and programs and to develop and foster understanding and acceptance of the Indian-Non-Indian relationships. The program consists of three basic phases as follows:
Academic Phase — Comprehensive Counseling Services to Students: Services will include counseling, academic advising, assisting in obtaining financial aid, tuturing, and total overall adjustment to the University community. There is a critical need to have adequate services and staffing to meet the unique needs of the Indian Students.
The offering of Indian-oriented courses, for example, Contemporary issues of the American Indian, the Reservation Indian, the Urban Indian,
Clarence Woodcock is editor
The Flathead Tribe has decided to renew publication of the Tribal Newspaper, Char-KOOSTA, in an attempt to increase communication between the tribal members on and off the reservation as well as among other United States Indian Tribes and whites.
The paper will serve a two-fold function; that is, to acquaint all interested people of tribal affairs and also to acquaint the Indian people with the programs available to them through the Tribe, BIA, CAP, PHS, etc.
The Tribe has appointed Clarence Woodcock as editor of the publication. Clarence, an employee of the Community Action Progam in Dixon, will devote half of his time to publishing CHAR-KOOSTA and the other half supervising trainees to take over his CAP bookkeeping responsibilities.
The paper will begin as a four-page monthly publication, but Clarence fells that with the support and interest of the Indians and non-Indians on the reservations, the paper will be able to expand into a major news supply for all reservatiion people.
and History of Indian Affairs will be offered. Courses in other departments will also be offered.
Research Phase — This aspect deals with practical applied research as contrasted to pure or solely scholarly research. The idea is to make research findings as perational as possible. The tribes will identify areas of research. The program will be able to submit proposals for research areas as well.
Consultative Service Phase — This phase is looked upon as part of the University's public services effort — making these services available to tribes at no cost. The University will make its total resources available for tribal use. Again, the tribes will intitiate requests for services of a consultant and determine the area that consultant will serve.
UM Indians place in speech meet
The University of Montana placed second in the First National Indian Speech Tournament at Dartmough College in Hanover, N.H., last weekend.
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, placed first and Dartmouth College placed third. Ten teams participated: Brigham Young University; Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.; Dartmouth College; University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo.; Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.; University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N.M.; University of South Dakota, Vermillion, S.D.; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn.; Northeastern State, Tahlequah, Okla., and the University of Montana.
The members of the University team were Tom McKay, sophomore, general major; Judy Abell, sophomore, pre-business administration; Gerald Stiffarm, sophomore, pre-business administration, and Robey Clark, senior, journalism.
As a team, the University placed second in extemporaneous speaking, third in after-dinner speaking, third in debate, but did not place in declamation. Judy Abell was awarded first place as the best extemporaneous speaker and best debate speaker. The UM negative debate team of Abell and Clark did not lose any rounds and the affirmative team of McKay and Stiffarm lost only one. The debate topic was "Resolved: That Indian
TRIBAL HEADQUARTERS
— Early this spring fire damaged the Tribal Headquarters. The Char-Koosta
housing program is remodeling framework on up. The project is the office. It was necessary to expected to be completed in begin remodeling from the July.
Housing project set up by tribe
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have begun a housing construction enterprise, CHAR-KOOSTAH HOMES, under the auspices of the Tribal Council.
Development of this enterprise began when the Tribal Council, in an effort to provide a resource for steady employment and training for underemployed local residents, decided that home building offered a consistent opportunity for employment and would provide training useful both on and off-reservation. There are no outside interests in the manufacture of these homes, the entire project being financed and supervised under tribal administration.
Mr. Bill Hobjin, program manager, came here in January of 1971 and spent the first few weeks of operation renovating a building at the Agency near Dixon for use as project headquarters. Employees were placed in training in Spokane prior to the begining of local construction activities. There are presently 14 employees on the payroll and the Council anticipates adding 50 more.
Education be Transferred to the Tribal Councils."
Harold Gray, counselor and advisor for Indian Studies, said the University debate team paid the entry fee for the Indian team, and Richard Solberg, dean of the college of arts and sciences, and Wesley Snellen, instructor of communications, arranged the funds for the trip.
Payrolls since the beginning of the year have amounted to a figure in excess of $17,000, full year; $225,000 is projected for the next sixteen months, nogotiating an approved apprenticeship training program.
The project has built three onsite homes and has six modular homes near completion to date. All homes are actually custom built in the sense that the customer can choose his own plan, color, texture, and interior decor. Sizes may range from two bedrooms and one bath to five bedrooms and two baths. Some built to standard plans are available at Dixon for as little as $10,500. These include a refrigerator, range, and full carpeting. Two homes, fully furnished, are on display at Dixon for those interested in seeing the type of materials used.
Furniture bought directly from the factory is available at considerable savings. This is also on display at the Tribal Headquarters.
Completed homes are available for sale to the general public. Tribal members may seek financing through the Tribal Credit Office for homes to be located on the Reservation. Non-Indians and those wishing off-reservation housing must go through conventional loan agencies. All houses are FHA and VA approved and will meet all state and city codes.
ARLEE POW WOW IS.JULY2-K
The annual Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe's pow wow will be held at Arlee July 2 through July 6.
$1,500 in prizes will be given for best Indian dances and costumes.
Insufficient signatures stop requested election
Mr. Fred Houle, Secretary of the Tribal Council, announced that the Tribe has received a telegram from James Canan, area director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Billings.
The telegram was addressed to the Committee for Optional Withdrawal and reads: Pursuant to article X of the CS&KT Constitution and 25 CFR 53, you have submitted on March 29, a petition requesting Constitutional Amendment Election be authorized. Have concluded only 924 of the 1,217 signatures
are in accord with 25 CFR 53. It may have been possible to secure waivers of certain parts of petitioning regulations and include as valid another 106 signatures. However, since petition would still be 70 signatures short of the required 1,100 valid signatures, those waivers were not requested. Accordingly, you are hereby notified petitioning action is insufficient to effect authorization of requested election.